Prince’s New Single “FUNKNROLL” Delivers Kooky Perfection

Much of Prince’s mystique lies in his immunity to age…at least, from what we can observe. The rest of the fascination regards his craft–wacky, avant-garde, and tunefully impeccable.

Oozing a verve resistant to expiration, he’s still the prevailing paradigm of what happens when artsy flamboyance mingles with fussy refinement for a solid three decades in American pop.

And his kooky new single, “FUNKNROLL”, fortifies all of this.

In song form, Prince starts an all-ages party that initially caters to the punk coterie–by way of distorted, lo fi guitar fuzz–and then to the trendier, sprawling electro funk/trip-hop circle with bass-y accents and a puffed-up, e-drum sequence. Somewhere near the end, however, the track turns totally Journey-concert…bursting with stadium-rock synthesizers and arena-stretching volume.

There’s no ambiguity present in “FUNKNROLL”, just Prince’s trademark high-pitchiness and intermittent squeals that scream a resonating message:

“Finally beloved we meet at last
Middle of the hit, never mind the past
Only way to get you where you never been
Let’s party like you ain’t gon’ party again…”

The single is another sneak peek from Prince’s forthcoming studio album, Art Official Age, scheduled for arrival on September 30th. Listen below: